February 3, 2023
Locked on Women’s Basketball: Candace Parker to the Las Vegas Aces
By The Next
Matthew Walter and Natalie Heavren discuss the flurry of big moves from the Aces. Plus: Kiri Oler joins to chat about her latest story on the WBL's Lisa Thomas
It’s time for another episode of the Locked on Women’s Basketball podcast. In this episode, host and Atlantic 10 beat writer Natalie Heavren is joined by The Next’s Las Vegas Aces beat writer, Matthew Walter. Matthew and Natalie break down some major moves from the Aces over the past few weeks. Then they discuss where adding Candace Parker and Alysha Clark leaves them in their goal of becoming repeat champions. Plus, be sure to stick around as our own Kiri Oler also joins Natalie to discuss her recent story, which is about the WBL’s Lisa Thomas.
Continue reading with a subscription to The Next
Get unlimited access to women’s basketball coverage and help support our hardworking staff of writers, editors, and photographers by subscribing today.
Already a member?
Login
Matthew on what the addition of Alysha Clark means for the Aces:
Alysha Clark brings another veteran to the team, another piece of veteran depth that I think is really important for the Aces. I talked about how much they needed that veteran depth going into this offseason, and Alysha Clark is the perfect three-and-D small forward/shooting guard that the Aces could use to fit into their system. Someone that can come off the bench, guard one through three, … can knock down outside shots.
Matthew on what Las Vegas putting together a “super team” means for the league as a whole:
The Aces went out and they became a super team, and now we’ve seen the Liberty become a super team. Two teams who have four or five all-stars, two teams that … everyone and their mother would say “these two teams will be in the finals” or “these two teams will win championships.” We’ve seen this happen in other sports, and then that’s not always the case, those team’s don’t always win the championship.
But I think for the Aces right now, they’re just trying to build a dynasty. The dynasty for a long time was Minnesota and the Sparks. And now it’s the Aces trying to become a dynasty with a bunch of young players and then surrounding them with veterans like Parker, and then Clark.
To stay up to date on every episode of the Locked on Women’s Basketball podcast, subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. For all of our WNBA free agency coverage, click here. To find Matthew’s Las Vegas Aces coverage, click here! For Kiri’s coverage of Lisa Thomas, and the rest of The Next’s WBL series, click here!
